Various types of racks have been devised in the past to hold books or other reading materials so that it can be read by a person while keeping the person's hands free to perform other activities. Some of these racks served a dual purpose of reading racks and book ends. Typical examples of such book rests or reading racks may found in U.S. Pat. Nos.: 1,942,456, Stark; 2,117,668, Johnson; 2,592,252, de Coste; and 3,429,541, Herman. None of these prior art devices provide a rack designed to be mounted on the console of an exercise machine.
Many people who use various type of exercise machines such as a stationary bicycle or other exercise machine where a repetitive exercise is performed for a considerable period of time, become bored and would like to be able to read while performing the exercise. If they attempt to hold a book, magazine, or newspaper in their hands, while using the exercise machine, this sometimes becomes cumbersome and detracts from the exercise. Also their hands can become sweaty and they are likely to damage the reading material.